REGIONALOUTLOOK
According to the current government goal, Italy is set to reach 15 GW by 2020. Unsurprisingly, now that the ‘big PV rush’ has started, a legion of domestic and international investors are putting their bets on the highly-prized perks offered by the Italian marketplace, namely the world’s best Feed- in Tariffs (FiT), sun irradiation levels above average, and local technology partners that have proven their of profitable turnkey PV system installation.
Inspired by the German government incentives model, the Italian support scheme includes high aggregate FiT of 42 euro/kWh for new PV projects for the first 20 years of their life cycle. The program, which was implemented in February 2007, is aimed to provide tariffs until a cap of 1.2 GW is reached (unofficial government sources say that a new cap of 3 GW may be under way). As the current support package will complete its cycle on December 31, 2010, a new draft of the incentive plan is under discussion.
Preliminary talks on the ongoing negotiation seem to suggest that the government may decide to decrease the incentives only gradually, with lower reductions applied in the short term and more important cuts to be adopted over the next few years. Investors interested in the Italian photovoltaic market should consider a number of crucial aspects that are shaping the growth of the industry. First of all, not only does the actual FiT approval process vary from region to region, but also authorization procedures and sun irradiation levels are subject to change locally. In terms of solar radiation averages, a plant installed in a northern region of the peninsula can provide radically different performances in comparison to a solar plant built in the south. For example, each kWp installed in Lombardia on average produces 1,150 kWh in one year in comparison to 1,500 kWh produced in the south of Italy.
The outcome of such complex variability is reflected in the distribution of PV projects across the peninsula. According to preliminary data the Italian region with the highest PV power installed is Puglia with more than 103 MW, followed by Lombardia and Emilia Romagna. These regions have adopted fast-track authorization processes. Lombardia is also the first Italian region for number of implemented PV projects with over 9,300 plants, followed by Emilia Romagna and Veneto. On the other hand, Trentino Alto Adige, located in the northeastern area of the peninsula, holds the record of installed power per capita with 50.5 Wp for each resident, followed by Basilicata, Umbria, Marche and Puglia. Overall, the national average per capita is currently 13.3 Wp.
What’s shaping Taiwan’s PV Industry? The Photovoltaic (PV) or solar cell industry in Taiwan has been developing vigorously in recent years. Apart from the existing suppliers, more companies are devoted or planning to invest in midstream or downstream solar cell products, applications or related accessories industries. As Taiwan’s PV industry has been pushing for rapid progress in recent years, the entire industry supply chain was established and the industry cluster was also strengthened.
The annual capacity of the solar cell industry has made Taiwan one of the top five solar cell manufacturing countries in the world. Of all the PV suppliers in Taiwan, there’s a trend of suppliers gathering in the science parks to exploit the synergy and collaboration of the vertically integrated clusters, reports the Photonics Industry & Technology Development Association (PIDA).
As for now, most PV companies gather in Hsin-Chu Science Park (HSP) and Southern Taiwan Science Park (STSP). Companies in these two science parks contribute more than 60% of the total production value in Taiwan. As to HSP, notable players include DelSolar Co., Ltd., E-Ton Solar, Gintech Energy Corporation, Motech Industrial Inc., Neo Solar Power Corp. (NSP) and more. “The revenue of these companies amounted to near 40 billion NT dollars in 2009 and occupies more than 40% of the total production value of Taiwan, though presenting a 16% decrease from that in 2008,“ says PIDA.
In the Southern Taiwan Science Park, a complete PV industry supply chain, from upper stream material, midstream cell, to downstream module/system, is gradually taking shape as Motech pursues a vertical integration strategy and Delta steps into the module production and system installation field. PIDA says, the production value of
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www.solar-pv-management.com Issue V 2010
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